Chelsea close in on a deal for Tyler Adams, activating his release clause for the USMNT midfielder

Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams.

the athlete It reported on Monday that Chelsea were set to increase their interest in Adams this week, having previously been considering a move for the USMNT international whose contract at Leeds contains a release clause in the region of £20m ($25.5m).

Chelsea are now set to trigger that release clause and set a medical, with personal terms between the club and the 24-year-old not being an issue.

Chelsea’s main midfield target was Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old did not feature in Brighton’s final pre-season game

Chelsea have seen four offers rejected for him so far this summer.

They are expected to make a new bid for Caicedo and also made a £48m bid for Romeo Lafia at Southampton earlier this week.

Adams, who previously sparked interest from Aston Villa, joined Leeds from Leipzig last summer and played 24 times as they suffered relegation to the Championship.

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Adams suffered a hamstring injury in March and did not appear during the Leeds game, or in the Nations League matches in June. Leeds chairman Daniel Farke gave an update on Adams’ injury last week, saying: “Tyler is not far from back in training. Hopefully Tyler will be back early. He’s been out for a long time and needs to train.”

Adams was present at Elland Road on Sunday for Leeds’ opening Championship match, a 2-2 draw against Cardiff City.

Chelsea have seen several midfielders drop out of the first-team squad this summer, with Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount leaving. So far, only Leslie Oguchukwu has been added to Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, although the young Frenchman could spend the season on loan at Chelsea’s partner club Strasbourg. Andre Santos, who signed from Vasco de Gama in January, has made a regular appearance for Chelsea this pre-season after spending the second half of 2022-23 again on loan with his former club.

(Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)